Mattel Ucreate Music: For Your Little DJ Hero

Don’t be fooled by the toy-like looks: If you can get the kids to stop playing with Mattel’s Ucreate Music, you may find the “serious” musicians in your home clamoring for time with the gadget.

Luckily for the 8-years-and-up target audience, musical know-how isn’t a prerequisite for enjoying Ucreate Music. Simply flip the “on” switch, start pressing buttons at random, and you’re likely to crank out a fun, funky dance mix on first try. Dig deeper, though, and you’ll find some cool features to keep little DJs’ hands and minds occupied — certainly more than mixing imaginary tracks on a plastic turntable. (No offense, DJ Hero — I swear we’re still cool.)

Record samples, layer backbeats and instrumental runs, mix and match looped sounds and drop in various instruments to create your own danceable tunes. And if your DJ also has MC aspirations, you can use the internal microphone to record, loop, and either speed up or slow down vocal tracks. (Not surprisingly, my kids took to this feature for its limitless annoyance potential.)

Storage capacity is minimal, but you’ll be able to record around 2 1/2 minutes’ worth of music at a time — roughly the length of a pop-radio single. Ucreate Music also includes software, complete with a link to a Web site that lets you download additional sounds and upload your creations. Truthfully, though, you’ll find most of the fun in the gadget itself. No matter what level of skill your kids bring to it, Ucreate Music offers a whole spectrum of sound to keep them playing.

$48.99 from Amazon.